 Execution by lethal injection may cause excruciating pain, contradicting its reputation as a humane and thus publicly acceptable way to impose the death penalty, Human Rights Watch said.
| Y'know, it's a funny thing, but murder also sometimes does that. |
Executioners fail to take the steps needed to ensure a painless death and use a drug that veterinarians have deemed too cruel for putting down dogs and cats, the group said in a report released on Monday. However, a leading death penalty proponent dismissed the report as “blind speculation,” saying there was no evidence of someone being conscious and in agony during lethal injection.
| I always thought they were put to sleep before being put down. That's what all the descriptions I've ever read have said. Maybe they lied to me. |
Three steps after getting the IV line in:
1) An opiate, barbital or benzodiazepine to induce sedation.
2) A paralytic agent (e.g., pancuronium) to stop all skeletal muscle activity, and thus respiration. Pancuronium was used by veterinarians for euthanasia until recently, but the rule is you can't do that anymore -- you need to sedate the animal first. Hence the reference in this story.
3) Potassium chloride to stop the heart. Over to you, Dr. Quincy. |
Human Rights Watch, which opposes the death penalty in all cases, issued the report amid increased scrutiny of lethal injections across America.
| Does that mean they want murderers to stop inflicting the death penalty on their victims? Or they just want the state to stop putting murderers down like dogs? |
A North Carolina man was executed by lethal injection on Friday by officials who, following a judgeÂ’s order, used a brain wave monitor to ensure he did not suffer undue pain.
| I think we're jumping through a lot of hoops to make the departure of the depraved from the gene pool comfortable. I'm not in favor of cruelty, but I'm in favor of cleansing the body politic by disposing of those who can't control their impulses toward violence. |
In other states such as Florida and California, executions have been delayed while courts consider whether the lethal injections cause agony. An execution in California was halted in February after the prison failed to find anesthesiologists willing to certify the inmate’s death was painless. “There is mounting evidence that prisoners may have experienced excruciating pain during their executions. This should not be surprising given that corrections agencies have not taken the steps necessary to ensure a painless execution,” Human Rights Watch said.
| I've done plenty of euathanasia on lab animals using very similar methods, and never once was it painful. |
Human Rights Watch does not endorse any alternative method but said as long as the death penalty is legal in the United States it wanted to enforce international human rights laws requiring the least possible suffering.
| Just send them to the vet, then. They've got lots of experience. |
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